Something to Talk About
by Dai-onna and Enkidu
Summary: Jou/Otogi. After both boys are caught in a compromising position, rumours are spread about them around school, and the two former rivals--Aw, just read the story!! Yaoi. ^_^
1. Chapter One

"Something to Talk About"  
  
By: Dai-Onna & Enkidu  
  
Rating: NC-17 (eventually) Pairings: Otogi/Jou, Jou/Otogi, mentions of Seto/Yami. Summary: Inspired by the song "Let's Give Them Something to Talk About" By: Bonnie Raitt Warnings: Yaoi, some OOC, some bad language, naughty situations.  
  
Enkidu: I hope you enjoy the fic! Much thanks to Dai for agreeing to co- write the fic with me! She's an awesome writer, especially at lemons ^_~!  
  
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-CHAPTER 1-  
  
Otogi wrapped a towel around his waist as he dried himself from the shower he'd taken after gym class and used another separate towel to work on drying his hair. He hated taking gym showers; they never gave him enough time to properly dry, brush, and style his hair into its always perfect state-something that usually took a good three hours if he was in a hurry-, but he had little choice. If he went around without taking showers durning the day, he'd be just as bad as that mutt, Jounouchi.  
  
He huffed a little at the thought of that. He would never reduce himself to such standards. Just the idea of it was completely unheard of. What would his adoring public think? He would never disappoint his adoring fans.  
  
With a sigh he put the towel down and began to brush his hair out, reaching for his ponytail holder and deftly pulling it up on top of his head to secure it, looking in the mirror to make certain that he looked utterly irrisitable. He spared a wink at his reflection as he pulled on his pants. Oh yeah, he was gorgeous he thought with a grin.  
  
Jounouchi was halfway down the halway when he realized he'd left his backpack in the locker room and cursed, turning back and reentering the room in a hurry. The last thing he wanted was detention... again. He shook his head at the thought, grimacing lightly, and rushed into the room, heading back to his locker. He did not looking where he was going as he rounded a wall of lockers and grunted when he collided with another body, equally in a hurry, falling to the ground with the other crashing on top of him.  
  
"What the hell--watch where you're going!" He yelped before he blinked his eyes open, falling short when he saw the raven-haired dice master laying on top of him.  
  
Blinking rapidly to try and clear his dizziness, Otogi looked down at the sputtering blonde beneath him in shock, neither of them noticing the flashbulb going off on the other side of the room.  
  
Otogi growled with unseen fury, pushing himself off the blonde canine and throwing him a glare, obviously blaming him for his clumsiness. "Watch where you're going," he spat out vehemently, getting onto his feet and fixing his pants, mildly noticing that he had left his zipper and button open.  
  
Jounouchi was furious. How dare that pony tail-wearing, dice-throwing, Pegasus-worshipping idiot blame him!! Okay, so it was partially his fault, considering he was the one running and all, but that gave the other no excuse to be an ass and take it out on him. "Why don't you... look who's coming at you!?" He retorted rather lamely as he climbed back on his feet, gathering his things. So it wasn't the best defense, but it was all he could come up with at the moment.  
  
Otogi simply rolled his eyes at the response, choosing not to make a comment on it. Okay, he had to make a comment on it. The blonde seemed to constantly leave himself open for insult. "What's wrong, Puppy? Couldn't think of anything better to say? Then again, that should be common to such a feeble-minded person as yourself."  
  
That elicited a growl from Jounouchi, and he was just about to make a come back when the raven-haired boy pressed a finger to his lips. "Careful, Puppy. Wouldn't want to waste your time barking at me. You're already late for class."  
  
Jou's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, and he realized with a groan that the other boy was indeed right. Throwing a quick glare to the other boy, he took off running towards his next class, eager to bitch to someone, most likely Yugi, about how annoying a certain dice-wielding boy is. Oh, yes, one must pity poor Yugi for having to sit through everyone's nonsensical complaining.  
  
Otogi shook his head lightly as the puppy ran off, then blinked, when it occured to him that he too was late for class, and cursed, rushing to his locker to put on his shirt, jacket, shoes, and quite unnecessary feminine accessories. He ran out into the hall, backpack slung from one arm while he tried to fasten his earing, glad that no one was in the hallways to see his undignified actions as he rushed towards his next class, tripping over himself.  
  
Jou grumbled, moaned, complained, and made a general nuisance of himself as he recalled his tale to Yugi during lunch about how much of an ass Otogi was, possibly exaggerating here and there, since Yugi was fairly certain that Otogi hadn't handcuffed Jou to a locker or ocked him in the locker room, but chose not to mention it.  
  
"Man, I don't why we have to put up with that jerk." He complained, his mouth full of food so that it came out sounding more like, "Mn mmerrnd aieeve tbut aterk."  
  
Yugi winced a little, giving his friend a humoring look and moving father away, trying to avoid flying bits of food that came flying in his direction.  
  
"Anou, Jou, don't you think you're overreacting just a little?" He asked lightly, trying not to look directly at the blonde who was currently making a statue out of his mashed potatoes.  
  
Jou shook his head vehemently, making what he believed was a masterpiece, shaped like Kaiba bowing down to him, though more resembled..... well, a big pile of mashed potatoes, though no one was going to point that out to him. (1)  
  
"No way, Yuug, that guy is nothin' but a pain. Look at `em sittin' over there," he said, gesturing wildly in the direction where Otogi was currently taking up a quarter of the lunch room, handing out autographed pictures of himself to swooning girls.  
  
Otogi was quite suddenly aware of a pair of eyes on him and turned to wink at whatever new girl decided to fawn over him but instead, locked his gaze with a familiar pair of brown eyes, belonging to an irritating puppy. He narrowed his eyes and took out a pair of dice, flicking both of them at the blonde's head, chuckling once they hit their mark, then returned his attention to the swarm of pretty girls that were practically kissing his feet.  
  
"Damn him!!" Jounouchi cursed, pounding his fists into the table, inadvertantly smacking them into the mash potatoes and managing to get some on Yugi's hair, Anzu's eye lid, and Honda's cheek.  
  
"Jounouchi!!" Anzu and Honda whined in unison, glaring at the boy.  
  
"How dare he-HE!! I hate that stupid trick, and one of these days, I'm just going to take all his dice and shove it up his-"  
  
"Jounouchi!" Yugi warned before the blonde's description of what exactly he was going to do to Otogi got too detailed. He was used to the boy's restless complaining and knew that if he didn't stop it soon, Jounouchi would probably end up challenging Otogi to a duel, thus humiliating himself even more, possibly even ending up back in a dog suit again. Not that Yugi would have minded. He had to admit, it was quite funny.  
  
"I don't see what girls see in him, anyways. 'Ooh, look at me! I have a fruity earring, I dress like a girl, and there's a bizarre tattoo under my eye. I'm SO hot'," Jou said with a snort."He looks more like a hair dresser than anything or maybe one of those losers that belong in a boy band."  
  
"Teenage girls love boy bands," Anzu pointed out, absently pushing around her food on the plate.  
  
"Not helping," Jou muttered, unable to take his eyes off the self- proclaimed Dice King. There was just something about the raven-haired boy that got on his every nerve. Sometimes he just wished there was some way he could humiliate him. His mind veered off into random fantasies of having Otogi end up in a humourous animal costume...or perhaps naked somewhere. Okay, the naked one disturbed him just a tad, so he quickly shuffled that one off to the back of his mind where he hoped it would shrivel up and die along with his random memory of actually having a crush on Anzu when he was 12. Gods, what was he thinking!?!  
  
With a shudder at that brief flashback, he discarded the thought from his mind and went back to fuming, rubbing at the die imprint on his forehead and glaring at the raven haired boy.  
  
Yugi grimaced as he tried to get the mashed potatoes out of his hair, but was unable to since his arms were too short to reach that high. Thus, he was subjected to Anzu wiping a napkin over his hair, which only succeded in spreading the potatoes around. He sweatdropped at the snickers coming from nearby students. Oh well, his hair still looked better than Honda's, in any case, who seemed to have forgotten about the mashed potatoes on his cheek.  
  
Otogi smirked to himself as he let girls take turns sitting in his lap for about a minute each, ordering them by the prettiest ones first and preening while remembering the look on the blonde's face. He glanced over at said blonde and had to bite the inside of his cheek when he saw his hand and a good portion of his clothes splattered with mashed potatoes. He could just imagine the puppy licking himself clean then perhaps rolling around on the floor. The second image had him snickering lightly, and he pretended he hadn't pictured the first since the image of Jou licking himself in various ways was quite disturbing.  
  
One of these days he was going to have to buy the mutt a collar and a leash or something, at least, a bottle of pet shampoo and a dog brush. Sure, no one could have hair as silky and perfect as his own, but the mutt looked like he didn't even try. It was really quite sad. Otogi almost felt the need to advise him, somewhat like a pity project, or social charity. After all, it was good kharma to help the less fortunate, right? He nodded to himself, trying to decide which obedience class to have Jounouchi enrolled in.  
  
Jou frowned at his hand, shaking most of the potatoes off, noticing in satisfaction that a good bit hit an oblivious Kaiba in the back of the head, and wiped the rest off with a napkin. Normally, he would have licked it off, but this was cafeteria food, and one never knew what could be lurking inside it. It was like a horror movie waiting to happen. Having finished that, he resumed ranting to his friends who were either completely oblivious, ignoring him intently, or being taken over by a dark spirit who was resisting the urge to go lick of the clump of mashed potatoes that had just dripped from Kaiba's hair to his neck.  
  
Kaiba gave a sudden shudder, feeling something slide down his neck and the top of his spine, and with an annoyed expression, reached behind to wipe it off. {Mashed potatoes?} He stared at the white substance for a while, looking at it as if it were some foreign, archaic object whose earthly presence has been missing for a good two thousand years. He couldn't suppress the scowl that flitted onto his face and quickly whipped around to glare daggers at a blonde, immediately accusing him.  
  
"What's wrong, mutt? Can't seem to eat without getting food all over the place? Figures. Why don't you just have Yugi spoon feed you?"  
  
Jou seethed angrily in his chair. What is this? Was today 'make Jounouchi's life a living hell' day? Why is it that two guys who irritated him the most seemed to be out to get him? And what was with their obsession of making him out to be a dog? Why the dog metaphor? He didn't even look like a dog!! And why DID the cafeteria food taste bad? Why DOES Otogi hang around in leather pants? Why IS Malik so creepy? How COME strawberry cheesecake tastes so good?!  
  
When Jou finally snapped out of his mental rambling, he noticed that the cafeteria was quite empty, and all of its previous inhabitants have long since fled. "Aw, crap," he muttered under his breath, grabbing his things and taking off towards his next class.  
  
Sliding into his seat, panting wildly, he was immediately blessed, or rather, cursed with a comment from dice boy himself, who just happened to have a seat behind him in that class. "Aw, did the poor puppy wear himself out trying to remember his alphabet?"  
  
Jou spun in his seat, giving the other an annoyed glare. "Cut it out, Otogi. I'm in no mood to deal with your stupidness."  
  
Otogi blinked a few times before breaking out into hysterical laughter. "Stupidness?! ...That's not even a word, Puppy....You're thinking of stupidity. Something I'm sure you're well acquainted with."  
  
The blonde's mood didn't lighten up, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Just you wait, Dice Boy. I'm going to get you back when you least expect it."  
  
Otogi blinked mildly at that, looking at the other with an almost bored expression. "Would that be when you grow a brain, or maybe when you develop a fashion sense. Or is it when you learn your right from your left because I won't be expecting any of those," he quipped, looking quite pleased with himself. Gods, but he loved baiting the mutt, and it was so easy, too.  
  
Jou growled a little, clenching his fists. "It'll be when.... uh.... when.... " he floundered for a comeback, cursing himself for not making a list of these things ahead of time. How did Kaiba and Otogi always come up with them? He just bet there was some comeback guide for rich pricks that they studied in their spare time since creeps like them obviously couldn't have any sort of a social life.  
  
"It'll be when you actually manage to beat Yugi in a duel," he said finally, that having been the best thing he could come up with.  
  
Otogi clutched his hand to his chest, pretending to look wounded. "Ouch. That stung," he said sarcastically, his eyes glimmering with obvious amusement. "I'm no match for your sharp wit."  
  
Jou was about to smirk, then he realized that Otogi was probably being sarcastic and scowled, grating his teeth instead while the raven haired boy broke out into a fresh bout of laughter.  
  
Jou wanted to make some sort of insult when the teacher called both their attentions' back to the lesson. He was left to simply slouch in his seat with a pout on his face, arms crossed over his chest. {Stupid Otogi. Such a jerk. I hope his hair falls out. Hm...maybe that's it. Maybe I should replace his shampoo with green hair dye. It'll match his eyes. Not that I noticed his eyes or anything...No..that would be kind of-}  
  
"Jounouchi! Pay attention," the teacher snapped.  
  
The blonde could almost see the other's smirk, and it made him all the more desperate to wipe it off his face.  
  
Otogi was indeed smirking, having tilted his head to one side while absently twirling a piece of hair around his finger. He just loved to tease the blonde. He looked so amusing when angry. It might even be considered cute. That quickly caused the raven-haired boy to blink and turn a bit pale. {Cute? I did not just think that about Jounouchi. No way. There's nothing remotely adorable about him. He's an imbecile with bad taste in clothes and smells like cookies. Hm..I want cookies. Maybe I can get one of those brainless twits who follow me around to bake me some cookies.}  
  
After several minutes of pointless banter about dolphins, whales, sardines, tuna, minute, unagi, eels, flounder, baracudas, blow fish, porcupine fish, shrimp, catfish, clownfish, sharks, goldfish, angelfish, sword fish, krill, crabs, lobsters, and child pornography, the bell finally rang, dismissing the students who were all too eager to head anywhere but school.  
  
Jou was about to bolt for the door when a certain mocking pony tail called out to him, begging to be pulled. He couldn't resist its seductive allure and before he could get a hold of himself, he grabbed the damnable ponytail and gave it the harshest tug he could muster.  
  
Otogi wasn't even expecting the sudden pull, and with a loud cry, he ungracefully fell backwards, feeling gravity take its toll as he was literally swept off his feet. Within seconds, he was sprawled out on his back, a painful throbbing in the back of his scalp, and his beloved hair was now in disarray. He immediately saw red, giving the blonde an irritated look that dripped with murder and other rather unpleasant forms of revenge. {Oh, you're going to die, Jounouchi.} His only consolation was the fact that hundreds of girls flocked around him in concern, making emphatic noises and fawning over him, making sure he was okay.  
  
Jou watched with a pleasant feeling of satisfaction as the dice freak codded his 'poor widdle hair' and grinned to himself, dashing off to catch up with Yugi in what is more commonly known as strategic retreat, or 'Save me, Yugi, before he replaces my eyeballs with dice.'  
  
Yugi, who had seen the spectacle, was trying not to chuckle at the fuss his friend had made and grabbing his things out of his locker to head back to the game shop.  
  
Jou grinned triumphantly and slung an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Heh, that felt pretty good," he chirped, causing Yugi to shake his head in exasperated amusement. "So, Yuug, do you think you could give me the homework assignment? I kinda tuned out while the teacher was telling us," he asked with a wide, sheepish grin.  
  
Yugi rolled his eyes at that, knowing that Jou's words meant he had either been too busy drawing in his note book or had fallen asleep, maybe both. He then blinked when he realized that he didn't have the assignment, either, since he had been too distracted by his Yami's fantasies of Kaiba wearing nothing but mashed potatoes, which was a little too disturbing for him.  
  
"Well?" Jou prodded the shorter boy, recognizing that bizarre spaced out expression he got sometimes.  
  
"Uh...why don't you get it from Anzu," Yugi muttered.  
  
Jou blinked at that. Yugi always had the homework assignment. Something must have been wrong with the boy, but before he could question it, something stung the back of his neck, making him wince. "What the-?" He turned around quickly, spotting a fuming, yet humourous-looking Otogi. The boy was shaking with anger, his hair sticking out in various places, and the top buttons of his shirt undone, displaying a small amount of his chest.  
  
{Huh? Why did I notice something like that?} Jou didn't have enough time to contemplate the minor homo-erotic thought before a shorter, slimmer body launched itself at him, clawing and growling like an angered cat whose tail has just been stepped on.  
  
"Damn you, Jounouchi!! You touched my hair!! Nobody touches my hair!!!" The raven-haired boy continued to hiss evilly, shoving the other to the floor and attempting to get a few punches in. His attempts were slightly unsuccesful since Jou proved physically stronger than him. That, and the fact that the blonde used to be quite the thug, finding himself constantly engaged in fist fights. It wasn't long before Otogi was sprawled out on his back, the other boy sending a punch to his jaw, which was certain to bruise his pretty face.  
  
"Aw, look at the lovers quarrel," Kiki said as she hugged the freshly printed school newspaper in her arms. All week long, she had been driving herself insane trying to look for a picture to put on the cover page. Well, she also needed a cover story with that, which was left up to her friend, Sora, who simply embellished on the little story the picture told for itself. The picture in question happened to be an interesting little snap shot of two boys in a very sexy position, Otogi on top, shirtless and his pants open, with Jounouchi on bottom, fully clothed-much to her disappointment. This obviously gave away their secret affair and clearly showed exactly who was in charge in their relationship. {I knew they were only pretending to hate each other. Oh, but they make such an adorable couple}  
  
Both boys suddenly froze and turned shocked faces to Kiki, confused as to what exactly she meant by that. "What do you mean 'lovers'?" Otogi asked-or rather growled. The thought was not only disturbing, but incredibly preposterous.  
  
Jounouchi simply gaped at the genki girl, his mouth flapping open and closed, making him look like a fish. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He never thought the word 'lovers' would be used to refer to him in Otogi. It just didn't click. No matter how hard he tried to make sense of it, the thought was just TOO weird.  
  
Said girl just grinned and held up a freshly printed copy of the school paper proudly. "Oh, come on Otogi-kun. No need to hide it anymore. By this time tomorrow the whole school will know about the real relationship between you and Jounouchi, "she said with obvious relish. This would be her best selling issue yet!  
  
"Give me that!" Otogi growled, snagging the paper. He raked his eyes over the front, only to gape in shock. There, right on the front page, was a picture of him sprawled out on top of a specific blonde puppy in a very compromising manner. His expression was horrifie, and he looked like he might be ill as he stared at the image. Hell, he had been there, but looking at the photo, he'd swear that he was trying to screw Jounouchi right there on the locker room floor. It was ridiculous. However, not as ridiculous as the accompanying article that speculated about the hot and heavy affair they were supposedly having.  
  
He swallowed hard, all the color draining from his skin as the paper fell from his limp fingers. Jou blinked a little at that and picked up the paper, running his eyes over it curiously. He blinked even more, his mind refusing to make any sense of it before it finally clicked, and he did the only thing he could.  
  
He fainted dead away.  
  
Grabbing the fallen paper, Otogi turned to Kiki with a sneer. "You can't print this! This is-this is not true!! This is false advertising or something!"  
  
The girl cocked her head to the side and giggled in a way that made Otogi cringe. "No need to hide the fact that you're into bisexuality, and there's no shame in admitting it!" She leaned forward, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Even I've had my fair share of bi-curiosity."  
  
"Bisexuality!?! This picture suggests bestiality!! There is no way I would ever screw that canine!! Never!!"  
  
The boy's protest went unheard by the girl, and she simply gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Otogi-kun. I know the girls will be disappointed, but you have such a sweet lover. They'll understand. Besides, Jounouchi is kind of cute."  
  
"He is NOT my lover!!" The raven-haired boy snapped, a vein showing prominently in his forehead, while one eye started twitching. He quickly took the contemptible newspaper and ripped it to shreds right before the girls' eyes. "Hah! Now you can't print it out!"  
  
At that moment, Sora made an appearance, carrying an entire stack of newspapers, all of them displaying the provacative photo. "I made the copies you wanted, Kiki!" She said happily, immediately flocked by several girls and an occasional boy or two, eager to find out whether the story was really true or not.  
  
Otogi did the only he could do. He went pallid and let out a rather girly shriek, which luckily was ignored do to the over exhuberant squealing of excited high school girls.  
  
Yugi, who was resisting the urge to buy a paper for himself, was fanning his friend lightly, trying to rouse him. Said blonde was twitching unconsciously, looking as if he might go into seizures at any moment; the shock was so great.  
  
At the sound of the ear-splitting, girly shriek, the blonde blinked his eyes open, about to protest the cruelty to the cat that was apparently being killed. Then he realized it was just Otogi and contemplated passing out again. This just couldn't be happening. It couldn't. It was too utterly absurd to believe. Surely no one bought into it, right?  
  
He glanced over at the stack of newspapers that were selling like raffle tickets at a bishounen auction, his eyes widening as everyone started talking animatedly. Several girls broke out into fits of sobs and some were attempting to chain themselves to a livid Otogi while declaring their undying love.  
  
Otogi whiled on Kiki, his eyes blazing with indignation."This is slander! And more importantly, it's disgusting. I wouldn't touch that mutt with a ten foot pole!" he spat, shuddering for effect.  
  
Jou blinked, pulling himself to his feet, and growled, getting in Otogi's face."Feh, you're one to talk! Just looking at you makes me want to hurl." He growled, feeling quite insulted.  
  
Otogi snorted. "Oh, go eat some grass. Can't you see the adults are talking now," he snarled, the two somewhat oblivious to the scene that they were putting on.  
  
Yugi tried to separate the two, not wanting them to fight right there in front of the whole school, but went unnoticed by the two enraged boys. He up squished between them as they got in each other's faces. {When I fantasized about being between two guys, this was not what I had in mind....}  
  
"Well, you look like a girl!!" Jou accused, giving the pony tail a good tug for effect.  
  
"Stop touching my hair!!!" the raven haired boy whined, forming claws from his hands and trying to scratch the other.  
  
"You fight like a girl, too." Yugi couldn't help chuckle at the comment, earning a glare from the dice king.  
  
"This is all your fault, Puppy!!" Otogi snatched a paper off one of the girls desperately clinging to him and shoved it in Jou's face.  
  
Jou grabbed the paper from his hands and pointed to Otogi's form on the picture. "How is it my fault!? Look who's on top! Clearly, you were coming onto me."  
  
This caused the other boy to sputter and turn disbelieving eyes to the blonde, giving him a look like he had just seen two heads on the boy's body. "What the fuck are you talking about!? I am NOT coming onto you!! I'm not even gay!! I hit on your sister all the time!!"  
  
"Yeah, and I'm not Jewish," Jou muttered.  
  
"Um," Yugi interjected quietly, tugging on Jou's jacket. "...but you're not Jewish."  
  
"Stay out of this Yuug. I know what I'm doing." All of the sudden Jounouchi blinked, remembering something the raven-haired boy said. "Wait a sec! You were hitting on my sister!?!? Why you-" With that, the blonde launched himself at the other boy, intent on wringing the slim, kissable neck out.{Kissable!?...This whole stupid situation is making me think weird things. Otogi is NOT kissable. He's anything but kissible. You couldn't pay me enough to kiss him! That would be like kissing the street...or a horse's ass.}  
  
So involved in his own thoughts, he failed to notice that Otogi was wringing his neck out instead, making him turn a bit blue. "Gah! Get him off me!" the blonde choked out.  
  
Yugi heaved out a sigh, deciding to call on his yami to separate the two quarreling boys. Though, he did take note that the boys really did look good together, and they did end up in a lot of interesting positions when they fought. Yami slowly took over as Yugi went off into happy hentai heaven with happy hentai thoughts.  
  
Yami shook his head at his hikari's mental images, beginning to wonder just who was the more perverted between them, but decided this wasn't the time to dwell on it. He pried Otogi's hands from his friend's neck, though not coming out unscathed  
  
Jou panted heavily, clutching his throat which now sported two prominant hand prints that were beginning to bruise, and tried to lunge at Otogi only to find himself being held back by Anzu and Honda, obviously trying to prevent more bodily contac--harm! Bodily harm! Yeah.  
  
Otogi seethed at Yami, glaring at him fiercely, but even he wasn't reckless enough to attack the dark spirit and settled for baiting Jounouchi who was currently being restrained.  
  
"Yeah, tie the mutt down," he growled, trying to ward off images of a bound and gagged Jounouchi. "Don't you know there are laws about dogs running around without leashes." He huffed a little, straightening himself and trying to recover his dignity, fixing his clothes and hair, though could feel a migraine beginning to form.  
  
This day was just getting weirder by the moment.  
  
"WHAT?" Somehow Jou managed to worm his way out of his friend's hold, probably since Honda's grip had slackened in shock when he saw the picture in the paper, and Jou lunged at the dice freak, tackling him to the ground.  
  
Boys and girls gathered around in a display of morbid fascination as the two boy's wrestled on the ground, trying to punch, kick, choke, and anything else they could do to the other as they rolled on the floor, unaware of the image they made.  
  
"Oh, dear. Those two never stop," one of the girls said.  
  
"Yeah, they're always going at it. Who knew those two were so horny all the time," another girl said, giggling uncontrollably.  
  
Otogi scowled as Yami once again managed to pry the boy away from Jounouchi. The dark spirit could have sworn that the dice lover actually enjoyed being pressed up against Jou or having the blonde on the floor, comfortably fitted between his legs.  
  
"You two have to calm down. You're overreacting," Yami stated, trying to be the voice of reason in all this chaos.  
  
"Tell your dog to back down. He's the one who keeps attacking. Perhaps he needs a muzzle."  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes, quickly covering Otogi's mouth with his hand in an effort to get him to stop. These two were simply impossible. Yep, they definitely enjoyed the physical part of their eerie relationship.  
  
Honda and Anzu had once again taken to restraining Jou, contemplating on actually keeping him on a leash. Everyone was quickly getting tired of the incessant bickering of the two boys.  
  
"Guys, this will probably all blow over by tomorrow. Nobody will even remember," Honda tried to assure the two boys. "Just go home and cool off for a while."  
  
The pointy-haired boy's words actually seemed to assuage the boys' distress, getting them to relax enough that they could be release. Otogi threw Jou one last warning look, speaking volumes of irritation and accusation before spinning on the heel of his shoe and taking off down the hall, hoping to get home without any more confrontation.  
  
Jou was just about to head home as well when a familiar brunette was seen walking down the hallway, heading towards the commotion. It was odd to see Seto anywhere near crowds since the boy avoided public gatherings as much as possible, but curiosity had gotten the better of him, making him go seek what interesting event could have possibly aroused this much attention. He was approaching Kiki when Jou's eyes widened in horror. {Oh, no!! I can't let Kaiba see that paper!! I will never hear the end of it. He'll never stop teasing me!!}  
  
He took off like a flash, dashing through the hallways and pushing past annoying girls in some vain effort to stop the brunette's progress. {Pleasedon'tlethimseeitPleasedon'tlethimseeitPleasedon'tlethimseeitPleasedon 'tlethimseeit}  
  
Kaiba raised an eyebrow as he saw the large display of papers, and lifted one, glancing at it for merely a split second before it was wrenched away by a frantic looking blond who seemed to be trying desperately to cover every single paper, though not really succeeding.  
  
Jou was frantically trying to hide what had to be several hundered papers and failing miserably, wishing he could just set fire to the whole lot. {Dammit, where's Bakura when you need him??!!}  
  
Kaiba boredly picked up one of the papers, causing Jou to freeze as he looked at the cover of it for several long minutes before finally doing a very un-kaiba like thing and snickering under his breath, his shoulders shaking from the force it took to hold the laughter back.  
  
Jou wanted nothing more than to go and hide under a rock, or under Anzu's skirt, somewhere someone would never look, in anycase. This was it. he was never going to hear the end of it.  
  
Kaiba quickly sobered, not one to display any sort of emotion for more than a few seconds, and sneered at Jou, feeling like a kid who'd just gotten a new toy on christmas.  
  
"Who knew? It seems you've been promoted from puppy to bitch," he said with a chuckle. "And here I thought Otogi had better taste than that."  
  
Oh, that was it. He had enough of all the teasing and definitely had enough of Kaiba in general. He glared darkly at the rich CEO, his hair spiking out slightly and looking very Yami-Malik like before he balled his hand into a fist and punched Kaiba in the eye.  
  
The tall brunette stumbled backwards and smacked into the locker looking puzzled. He stared dazedly at Jou, holding a hand to his bruising cheek. He was too stunned to hit back or do anything.  
  
Jou allowed him a few seconds of triumphant glory before bolting away frantically, afraid of whatever the taller boy would do to him once he recovered. He sped off as fast as possible, pushing through crowds and shoving people aside, dashing all the way home.  
  
Meanwhile, Seto stayed back, snarling and cursing out the mutt, determined to make the boy's life hell the next day. The only thing that made it worth was the fact that Yami was touching his face tenderly and giving him that look that made him want to melt. He allowed himself to lean into the touch, a content smile flitting over his features before turning away, throwing a look over his shoulder that clearly told the dark spirit to come to his house that night for many interesting activities. Yami caught the look and promptly melted into a puddle of the floor.  
  
Otogi trudged home, fuming the entire way and gingerly rubbing the cheek that the blonde mutt had dared to strike. He would have to make him pay for that. After all, no one got away with damaging his gorgeous looks, especially not a mongrel like that, who he was already more than a little furious at since he blamed him for the whole newspaper fiasco. It certainly couldn't be his fault. He headed into his house and for the kitchen, wanting to make an ice pack for his jaw. It was bad enough it was going to bruise, but he refused to be seen by anyone with a swollen, puffy cheek. It was absolutely out of the question. He plucked some ice cubes from the freezer and put them in a ziplock bag, watching the yellow and blue make green type of seal with odd fascination before pressing it to his cheek, hissing from the cold. {Damn that Jounouchi!} he thought for what had to be the hundredth time that hour.  
  
Jou panted as he finally made it home, not having stopped once the entire way, lest that creep Kaiba pop out from under a rock or something like in the cartoons he always watched. He was still looking around warily, making sure that the irate billionaire wasn't lurking around one of the corners, before finally settling on the couch, panting softly and sighing in relief as the manic events of the day began to crash down on him. He was seriously considering transfering to another school, in another country, on the other side of the world, where they hopefully had no idea who Kaiba or Otogi were, and could live a quiet life...  
  
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Enkidu: Erm...sorry if I left any mistakes. I beta-ed this myself, and I suck at editting so... anywho, review and respond, please! It encourages us to do more naughty things to your favourite bishies!!  
  
(1) Enkidu: Tee hee. Dai inadvertantly put some Jou x Seto hint... (That's just funny 'cause I know she's not too keen on the couple) Will shut up now. 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: If we DID own them, let me tell you, the dubs would be a LOT more interesting ^_~

Alright, chapter two. Dai here. ^^ I'm really glad about all the feedback we've gotten. Keep it up, we crave reviews, it's fuel for more chapters. 

Anyhow, on with the story!

Something To Talk About

By Dai-onna and Enkidu

________________________________________________

The next day had proved to be slightly quieter than the last, or at least, so it seemed. Jou trudged on, backpack slung over one shoulder, and tried to ignore the weird stares and silent whispers that went on behind his back. He could swear everyone was looking at him funny, and it gave him an unusually high amount of paranoia. Even worse was the fact that he had yet to spot either Kaiba or Otogi. Then again, perhaps that was a good thing. He was definitely not in the mood to put up with teasing or whatever it was Kaiba was going to do to him. 

Meanwhile, in the other side of school, Otogi walked in, cupping his cheek self-consciously. He had applied a generous amount of make up to cover the bruising, but he still couldn't help feeling nervous that someone would notice. Keeping his head bowed and playing with a lock of hair, he nearly shrank away from the hushed sounds of the student body. Was everyone still talking about him and mutt!? He could only pray that wasn't the case. 

His reputation had already been scarred enough with that embarrassing defeat against Yami. He didn't want to be known as the school fag, now. He managed to arrive at his locker, sticking his head in quickly to cover the marked cheek. 

"Oh, look, it's Otogi. He's SO hot!" he heard one girl remark as she passed by. A grin spread across his face, vainly acknowledging how true the statement was.

"Too bad he's gay and taken," her friend responded with a wistful tone.

{WHAT!?!? I'm not gay!!!! And I'm most certainly am not taken!! If I WERE gay, I certainly wouldn't go out with Jounouchi. No way! I wouldn't want to get fleas every time we hug or put up with dog breath every time we kiss} His subconscious ventured off into bolder, more interesting images of both of them going at it doggie style. He slammed his locker at that thought, pushing away the images as quickly as possible and blaming it on the fact that it's been quite some time since he'd gotten laid. 

The raven-haired boy had just started making his way to his first class when his shoulder collided with that of a far too familiar blonde. "You!" he said accusingly, eyes narrowed to slits. 

"This is your fault!" They both yelled in unison, eyes locked in a heated staring contest as they stood face to face. 

Being the peacemaker that he is, Yugi quickly intervened, absently wondering where the other peacemaker, Ryou, was at for the last two days. "Please, don't start fighting. The day just started, and people aren't really talking about you guys."

"Yeah, they're just whispering," Honda put in rather unhelpfully, earning him a pint-sized glare from Yugi. 

 It didn't really matter; neither of the two boys was listening to them anyways, glaring fiercely at one another with enough intensity to melt through steel. Otogi grabbed Jou by the front of his shirt, pulling him close. 

"This is all your fault, you clumsy mutt!" He snarled. "If you had been watching where you were going yesterday, none of this would have ever happened."

Jou fumed at that, fisting his hand in Otogi's shirt as well, putting their faces very close together. 

"MY fault??! I didn't exactly see you moving out of the way either, you pansy-assed freak. If you hadn't spent so long primping in the locker room, you wouldn't have even been in there to begin with." He insisted, earning a spiteful glare from the raven-haired teen who was now so close that he could smell his breath. {Mm, minty fresh....}

They were once again drawing a crowd, but it went unnoticed as they stared each other down. 

Yugi sighed a little and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose and contemplating the merits of pretending that he didn't know either of them. 

"Don't you two know that sort of thing is prohibited on school grounds. Get a room already." Came a smooth voice as Kaiba walked down the hall, sparing the two one amused glance as he went by. He was in a particularly good mood this morning, having had a nice, eventful night, and didn't even feel like pounding Jounouchi for hitting him the previous day, at least not yet. 

"I don't know why no one saw it before, you two can't keep your hands off each other." He drawled, heading down the hall, not wanting to be late for class like the rest of the school.  

 Otogi growled at the other billionaire in the school. He never liked Kaiba much. The brunette was almost as annoying as the mutt. Almost. He parted from Jou momentarily to grab Seto by the arm and spin him around, hissing in his face. "Shut up, Kaiba, and stay out of this."

"Careful. Wouldn't want Jounouchi getting jealous," Seto mused, calmly prying Otogi's hand off his before walking off to his first class, leaving the raven-haired boy to snarl. 

"He's not my boyfriend!!!" He yelled in frustration, tugging at his loosely, scattered bangs and cursing the blonde. 

Jounouchi pushed past him, rudely jarring his shoulder in an attempt to get into the class. During the collision, their hips had brushed against each other for a microseconds, but it had been enough to send a strange, erotic jolt through both the boy's bodies, leaving them both momentarily too stunned to talk. However, the moment was shattered when Honda started snickering at Seto Kaiba's previous comment. Yes, it took him that long to process it.

"Wow, you two really do touch each other a lot."

"Shut up!!!" Both boys snapped at the same time before shuffling into class, momentarily cursing the teacher for having placed them so close to each other on the seating chart. 

Jou spent the entire class period fuming, drawing scribbles in his notebook of the various ways he could murder Otogi; at least, until one of the scribbles that was supposed to be the raven-haired teen being drawn and quartered ended up looking like the other boy being tied to a bed, spread-eagle, an image that Jou found a little too fascinating for his own peace of mind, and had quickly shoved the notebook in his desk where he couldn't see it. 

Otogi had spent most of the time chewing on a chunk of his hair, grinding his teeth and mangling the precious strands until he had realized he was doing it and nearly gaped in horror, spending the rest of  the period fawning over the strands which he would swear were screaming out in pain. Poor little Mandy, and Mimi, and Gary, and Fiona, and Tracy, and Michael and....Well, you get the idea. 

By the time the class period had ended, both boys were extremely edgy and about ready to snap at even the littlest thing since not even the teacher's lecture had stopped the gossip from going back and forth in the form of notes under the desks. 

Otogi quickly retreated to the boy's bathroom, needing some sort of escape from all the crazy girls. Turning the faucets on, he began splashing cool water on his face, trying to force himself to relax, though his nerves were beyond frayed. His attention was immediately focused on the mess that had become of his beloved ponytail. He had spent so much time that morning covering up the bruise that he failed to treat his hair with its usual required attention. 

After a quick glance around, making sure nobody was around, he let out an exhausted sigh and pulled out the hair tie, reaching into his bag to grab a round brush, commonly used in only the top beauty salons. He set about brushing the inky strands, restoring them to their straight and silky state.

All of the sudden, the door swung open admitting an overeager Jounouchi who was, well, eager to wash his hands. He had been sitting at his desk when Kaiba decided it was the perfect oppurtunity to get revenge. Said revenge, of course, included putting crazy glue on all his school supplies so that they were now stuck to his hands. Kaiba went on his list of people whom he would exact revenge on, along with a certain dice-obsessed boy. Speaking of which...

Jou's jaw dropped in surprise when his eyes fell upon the bathroom's other occupant. He had never seen Otogi sans ponytail, and he had to admit, seeing him with his hair loose was definitely a sight to see. It made him look more feminine, but in this delicate, demure manner, which almost seemed aesthetically pleasing. The silky long hair combined with the sleek, slim body created the effect of making him appear graceful and even beautiful.

He was shocked out of his thoughts when an angry, pissed off voice assailed his ears. "What the hell are you staring at, mutt!?" 

Otogi was hastily retying his hair, wearing an expression of annoyance and possibly discomfort. His eyes then fell to the various utensils stuck on Jou's hand, and it took him seconds to comprehend that fact before breaking out into heavy fits of laughter.

It took Jou a moment to determine the cause for the other boy's seemingly spontaneous laughter, his mind sufficiently addled, and shoved his hands behind his back, moving over to the nearest sink with a huff. 

"Yeah, yeah. Like you're one to laugh. I came in here and thought I'd walked into the wrong bathroom." He said maliciously, turning on the faucet to try and dislodge the items from his hands. 

Otogi reddened at that, frowning deeply, and shook his hair somewhat self consciously, placing his hands on his hips. 

"Didn't they teach you how too use glue in elementary school? Or did you sleep through art along with the rest of your classes?" He asked sharply, his gaze narrowed. 

Jou snorted.

"Eh, shut it already. `S not my fault Kaiba is nearly as big a prick as you." He muttered, wincing as he all but ripped a pencil from his palm.

Otogi shook his head, a scowl forming on his wry features. "Nobody's a bigger prick than Kaiba. Why are you ripping them from your hands? Must you cause yourself unnecessary pain." 

"Leave me alone. I got this under control," he muttered, tugging on a pen that was stuck to the palm of his hand.

The raven-haired boy heaved a light sigh, feeling some odd sense of pity for the blonde. "Here. Let me help you out." Approaching him slowly and taking one of his hands in his own, he gently pried the pen away, running smooth, delicate fingers over the marked areas and rubbing them lightly.

Jou was utterly floored with this recent turn of events. Was dice boy actually being nice to him? He couldn't believe what was happening. One second they were at each other's throats, and the next second, the others velvety fingers were moving over his hands in the most sensual of manners, making him blush and even fidget a bit. He wasn't sure whether he wanted the other to stop or go on. 

Otogi had no idea what he was doing or why, but suddenly he was completely mesmerized by the contours of the blonde's hands, which were surprisingly smooth and un-calloused, and gently worked at prying the items from them, causing as little damage as possible, all the while forcing himself not to look up at the blonde's face. He could practically feel his gaze boring into him and felt that if he looked up, he would do something undoubtedly stupid. 

Jou swallowed hard as he watched the raven-haired boy working on his hands, trying desperately not to move, and instead tried to contemplate of the curious heat that was beginning to spread through him, causing his cheeks to flush and pooling in his lower gut. That was, of course, until he realized the source of that heat and tried to think of anything else.

The black haired teen but the inside of his cheek hard. He was standing so close to the blonde that he could practically hear his heart beating and he could feel the heat coming off his larger body in waves that seemed to encompass him, but weren't entirely unpleasant. In fact, they were kinda nice, in an odd, completely insane sort of way that he would never admit to anyone else. 

Neither of them had any idea what was going on. It was almost as if some odd out of place calmness had fallen upon them, and they were momentarily at peace. Otogi had long since finished removing the last of the school supplies and now his hands were merely roaming over Jou's unable to pull away. There was so much warmth and comfort in his touch and to give it up seemed almost like agony.

Unconsciously, Jou began to lean towards the other boy, drawn to his body almost as if possessed. A part of his mind began to wonder if Malik was controlling him, but he shook it off in favor of watching the top of the boy's head, bent in an angle that he couldn't see his face. In many ways, that was a good thing. He knew he wouldn't be able to control himself if he got one look into those emerald eyes, though what he was trying to control himself from was still a mystery.

In a sheer moment of stupidity, Otogi dared to train his eyes on the blonde's face, afraid of finding disgust or confusion. He was even confused with his own actions, finding himself oddly entranced by how different Jou's skin felt from what he had imagine. Not that he imagined what his skin felt like. No, that would be odd. Yet, here he was, touching him like he was some fine piece of china. 

The momentary lapse into reality gave him enough leverage to pull away from the blonde, feigning disgust and quickly washing his hands. "Ew. I hope I didn't get any fleas on me." 

Jou was still standing there frozen, the image of the dice-wielder's glittering eyes burned into his mind. In that moment, he had seen something indescribable in his eyes, something he couldn't pull away from, something that infinitely drew him towards the other boy. The sudden change of expression had broken him out of the trance, and he was seriously beginning to question his sanity. "Yeah, yeah. Do you wipe your ass with your hands? They smell like shit." 

"I should ask you the same. Why don't you go linger around the dog pound with the rest of your kind."

Jou snorted, once again turning back to the sink, intent on washing the feel of the other's touch from his hands, even if it was now engraved in his mind, and he was doomed to be haunted by it.

Otogi mentally cursed himself, shoving his hands in his pockets so that he didn't have to look at them, though they were tingling where he had held the blonde's hand and he couldn't escape the feel. He bit the inside of his cheek, moving to grab his bag where it sat, unfortunately, by the sink that Jounouchi was standing at.  He braced himself and moved to grab it swiftly, but went too fast and threw himself off balanced, causing him to brush up against the other, somewhat intimately, for a moment, the contact sending a flush of heat through the both of them. 

Jou tensed completely when he felt the other brush against his back, his cheeks flooding with color, and turned to face the raven-haired teen who was looking equally flustered.

"I have to go back to class," Otogi muttered quickly under his breath, darting out the bathroom like a mad man and running to the safe, comfort of being amongst his fellow peers. 

Though after sitting for a few minutes amidst chattering girls, he wanted to strangle himself. Apparently he and Jou were still the topic of choice, and he couldn't take anymore mentions of how well their bodies fit together, how their personalities complemented each other, or how cute they'd look in prom tuxedos. 

Jou eventually left the bathroom as well, heading back to class and splitting his thoughts in between doing something evil to Kaiba and contemplating what had happened in the bathroom. Shivers were still running down his back from where they touched the other boy, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. The easiest solution seemed to be to avoid him at all costs. 

With his new goal in mind, Jounouchi headed back to class with a more confident stride. That is, until the bell rang, and the door he was about to open and enter through flung open, smacking him in the face. Kaiba, who happened to be the opener of the door, couldn't suppress a quiet snicker at the blonde's misfortune.

"Watch where you're going mutt." 

"Stupid Kaiba," Jou muttered in irritation, grabbing his things and heading for gym class. 

 Otogi was wracking his brain on what to do. Getting strange, flustered feeling's around Jounouchi of all people was definitely not a good thing and it wasn't something he wanted to repeat...ever. The best idea seemed to be to ignore him completely; just pretend he didn't exist.

But that was easier said than done, especially with everyone in the school talking about it. He was even certain he'd seen a few of the teachers giggling over that god-awful paper and he wanted to throttle them all. 

Jou was rubbing his now sore face and heading into the gym locker room; shivering lightly as he remembered what had happened the last time he was in here. Though this time there were other people around, but he was still intent on getting in and out as fast as possible. Hopefully without having to run into Otogi. 

But fate was not on his side, big surprise, and Otogi entered the locker room only minutes after he had. He cursed every god in existence that their lockers had to be on the same row, and ducked his head as he changed, just trying to pretend that the other wasn't there at all.

{Don't look over at him. Don't look over at him. Don't look over at him. Don't look over at him.} Otogi kept his eyes trained on the locker in front of him, not daring to shift his eyes at all. Even in the corner of his vision, he could spot the other's delicate, slightly tanned flesh, the light seeming to illuminate it some how, calling more attention to it. He just continued with his mantra, slipping on his gym clothes as fast as imaginable. 

Similar thoughts were running through Jou's mind, resisting the urge to get a glimpse at the other's body. It had looked so slim and bendy before, truly a dancer's body. He shook his head violently, ignoring any more contemplation and how flexible the other might be. That was a little too unusual for his comfort. 

Both boys finished dressing at rapid speeds and immediately reported outside, lining up in their usual order while the coach seemed to yell at them for no reason. 

"Get in line, you pansies. Today we're running laps," he announced in his gruff voice. "Now, I'm going to pair you up and when I blow this whistle, you run." 

Jou was praying to every deity he knew of, which really wasn't that many, that he did not end up racing against Otogi. To his misfortune, the gym teacher seemed to have read the article and with an almost cruel smirk, he ushered him to stand next to the raven-haired boy. 

 Otogi shot the man a fierce glare and ignored Jou entirely, refusing to look up at the blonde boy as he got into position. As long as he pretended he was just another student, he'd be fine.

 But his mind refused to work that way and his eye kept trying to stray to his side where the blonde was stretching, the clingy material of his gym clothes showing the clear shape of his body, causing Otogi's heart to race and his cheeks to flush with color while he mentally berated himself. It was all that stupid newspaper's fault. If it wasn't for that, he would never have gotten such ridiculous thoughts in his head. 

Jou was grumbling and cursing to himself, wishing horrible torture on the gym teacher, and got into position next to the other, stretching lightly. He hated this. He wasn't particularly good in this class, having always been clumsy, and with Otogi paired up with him; he knew he would be spared no humiliation.

They  both got ready at the starting line and tensed up, waiting for the dreaded whistle to be blown and signal the start of the race. In his haze, the both vaguely heard the ominous shriek of the whistle going off before he taking off running as fast as they could, determined to beat each other and send the loser to the vicious fate of humiliation. In his mind, this was what it all came down to. The winner of this race would somehow retain their dignity and pride while the loser would cower on their knees. At least, that's the way he perceived it.

Otogi thought on similar lines, biting his lip in determination, his legs carrying as fast as he can push himself. Being graceful and light on his feet, he had the advantage of the clumsier Jou, yet they managed to be neck  and neck. 

The blonde could hear the other's labored breathing assault his ears, accompanied with the erratic thrumming of his heart. How badly he wanted to wipe the stinging sweat from his eyes since everything in front of him seemed to blur. His own panting was just as wild, and the combined sounds were starting to do something very odd to his subconscious. 

Sparing a glance at Jou, Otogi's eyes seemed to be glued to a particular drop of sweat sliding down his forehead, making its way down the center of his face and kissing his lips. For a second, he had some strange wish to be that drop. He wanted to follow the delicate, boyish features of Jou's face and fall upon warm looking pink lips. That momentary lapse of sanity was enough to send him tumbling to the side, which had dangerous repercussions.

Before Jou realized what was happening, his shorter opponent had crashed into him, sending them both falling until they were strewn upon the grass. Otogi once again found himself on top of Jou, breathing harshly, strands of lose hair sticking to his face like coiled snakes. 

Jou panted heavily, staring up at the other boy in shock as, for the second time in as many days, the other's lean body came crashing down on top of his own. His mind no longer seemed to be functioning because, instead of trying to get to his feet, he just laid there for a moment, staring up at the other in a dazed shock, everything around them seeming to fade into the background. 

Otogi too was breathing heavily, staring down at the boy beneath him, acutely aware of the way their hot, damp bodies were pressed to one another, skin sticking to skin, and his gaze was trained on the flushed face beneath his own, their breath mingling between them in the close proximity. It took a long moment before the realization of what had happened penetrated their minds. 

Jou was the first to recover, blinking heavily as he felt the eyes of all his classmates falling on him, and jolted, pushing the other boy off of him roughly as he scrambled away. 

"What the hell are you doing?! Watch where you're going you klutz. Just cause you can't keep up doesn't mean you have to take me out with you." He growled, trying his best to cover up how flustered he had become in that short space of time.

 Otogi's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he grabbed the other by the shirt collar. 

"Don't you dare blame this on me, mutt! You know you tripped me. You wanted me to fall on top of you, you…you...fag!" 

"Look who's talking!!" Jou spat back in return, snarling and getting ready for a fight. 

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Don't play dumb, Otogi. You wanted all this to happen. You enjoy the fact that everyone now thinks I'm your bitch." 

Otogi couldn't help but smirk at the end of the other boy's sentence. 

"So, you're my bitch, huh? ..Glad we both agree who's the girl around here." 

"Shut up!" Jou snapped. "If anyone's a girl, it's you! Who else wears pants that tight and hair that long!?"

The raven-haired boy was just about to attack again when Honda, who also happened to be in that class, sensed the oncoming fight and quickly held Otogi back. "Calm down, both of you. Now is not the time to engage in your bizarre sexual habits." 

That elicited a growl from both boys. 

"We're not having sex! We're not dating! And we're not doing naughty things with each other!!" Otogi was at a lost. It seemed nothing he said could convince anyone otherwise. It was all starting to get frustrated. Worst of all was that it was coaxing the strangest of thoughts, and that was beginning to unnerve him. 

 Jou turned a feral gaze on his friend, his eyes blazing. There was no way even Honda was buying into this crap, was there? That was it. That was just too much. This was all just insane. How the hell was he supposed to go through day-to-day life when everyone seemed to think that he was sleeping with some fruity, dice wielding prick. 

"I can't believe even you think I'm involved with him." He exclaimed towards his friend. "Even I have better taste than that. Hell, I'd sleep with....with....hell,  with Kaiba before I'd lay a hand on that pansy freak!" He exclaimed wildly, gesturing towards Otogi, his gaze livid. 

 In a class on the other side of the school, Kaiba, who was busy staring down Yami, the dark spirit having temporarily taken control of Yugi, sneezed and had the most disturbing chill go down his spine.

Otogi's Jaw dropped and he stared in shock for a moment, gaping, before elbowing Honda hard in the midsection and charging towards Jou, grabbing him up by the front of the shirt. 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" He demanded, his face flushed with anger. He couldn't believe that mutt actually had the nerve to say he'd prefer Kaiba of all people to him.

"What do you think it means? Geez, and you call me slow. I mean that even at my most desperate, I'd never touch a girl like you." The blonde growled. 

"Girl?! You're one to talk, Jou-chan."*

Jou glared daggers at the other boy, hating it when people called him that. He remembered the other boys in his old school used to tease him by calling him that, and it enraged him to no ends. 

"Fuck you!" he hissed before punching Otogi as hard as he could, sending the boy sprawled onto his back, which of course pissed the raven haired boy off now that his face was worse than it was before. He shot up to his feet almost inhumanly quick and shoved Jou hard before attempting a kick to his stomach.

The brawl was starting to get out of hand, and the gym teacher felt it was just about time to intervene. "Both of you, in my office, NOW." 

That got the boys to stop immediately, and they drew away from each other, dirty, sweating, and out of breath. They marched reluctantly to the teacher's office, a deadly silence falling in between them, and as they took their seats, they could almost feel the angry gaze of the teacher. 

"You both are acting like children. Quit your whining and fighting, and keep whatever relationship problems you have at home." 

"We are NOT in a relationship," Otogi ground out between clenched teeth. 

"Ah, so you broke up," the teacher said as he finally took a seat across from them. "Well, keep whatever it is between yourselves and out of my class. Gym is not a place to handle personal problems. If you need couple's counseling, your school counselor would be more than happy to assist you." 

Both were steaming in anger but chose not to say anything in fear of getting in more trouble. Ignoring the murderous thoughts going through their heads, both boys nodded and agreed to the teacher's lecture before being sent off to the gym showers. 

 By unspoken agreement, the boys went to opposite ends of the shower, wanting to be as far away from one another as possible, each fuming and raving inside of their heads as they cleaned of the sweat, grime, and occasional spattering of blood from their sore, tense bodies. 

Jou was barely resisting the urge to punch some of the walls, cursing vehemently under his breath and proving that he had a very colorful vocabulary. He couldn't remember ever being so angry, not even when Kaiba had humiliated him at Duelist Kingdom. And that was saying something. There was just something about the raven-haired teen that got under his skin like nothing else. He could honestly say that he wanted nothing more than another shot at burying his fist in that pretty little face. He jolted at that, swearing ripely, and cursing that damn photo for putting such notions in his head. 

On the other end of the showers, Otogi was livid, fuming out loud to himself  in a manner that had the people showering next to him trying to get farther away. How dare that mutt harm his beautiful face yet again?! Once had been bad enough, but this was just pushing it. His perfection had been thoroughly marred by that mongrel's fist, and now he couldn't even bare to let anyone look at him directly. It was just too sad a sight. He would definitely have to get that bastard back for that. 

Jou shut off the shower and headed out of the area, focusing solely on the task of not letting his eyes drift to the backside of a particular dice freak who appeared to be off in his own world, and resisting the urge to smack it hard with a wet towel. Juvenile as the urge was, it would be immensely satisfying. Instead, however, he headed out to his locker, wanting to get dry and dressed before the creep could finish his primping. Knowing Otogi, the rat probably had to shampoo, condition, and volumize his hair before he'd even step out of the shower. 

How true Jou was. Otogi was indeed washing his hair, but instead of using his usual, gentle treatment, he was furiously scrubbing his scalp and rubbing at the inky strands, unknowingly taking out his anger on the innocent locks. Muttering curses under his breath, he dunked his head underneath the shower, letting the water wash the shampoo and conditioner away. He quickly turned the knob, shutting the spray off and wrapped a towel around his waist, heading towards his gym locker. 

On his way, he just so happened to crash into a warm body, one which at first he thought was Jou. Luck was with him today, since apparently he had collided with Honda instead. The pointy haired boy was glaring down at him, definitely not looking happy.

"What is this? First you hit on my best friend, and now you're trying to seduce me?!" 

Otogi's eyes shot open, and he looked like he was going to vomit .

 "I'm not trying to seduce you!!"

"Then why are you prancing around in a towel, hm?" Honda inquired suspiciously.

Otogi let out a vicious growl, tugging at his wet hair and glaring. 

"This is not happening!! I refuse to believe you are this stupid...actually it is believable-"

Otogi was cut off by a hand clamping down on his mouth. Said hand belonged to Honda who was glaring rather darkly. 

"Listen here, faerie, you leave Jou alone. He doesn't want you. He's way too nice for you, you filthy animal. He deserves way better than you. You're not good enough at all for him." 

Otogi's anger seemed to dissipate at that, and his whole stance slumped downwards, a look of wonder overtaking his face. Even if he _WERE_ to swing that way, and for some unusual reason wanted Jou, would the other boy want him back? The idea seemed preposterous. He himself was irresistible to girls, but then again, most of them wanted him because of his looks or his reputation. Now he was beginning to wonder why the idea of being with him bothered Jou so much...

Well, he was also wondering why he was thinking of why it was bothering Jou. Sure, the boy was undoubtedly sweet, kind, and generous. He always put his friends first, and despite his occasionally  boastfulness, he did hold a certain humility. Otogi backed away from Honda, his eyes traveling to the blonde who was talking to himself and angrily tugging his clothes on. He had to admit, he was pretty cute for a boy especially with the tousled blonde hair, the trusting, loyal brown eyes, and a gentle smile that occasionally tugged at his lips. He forgot where he was going with this mental rambling, his mind only focusing on watching the blonde puppy. 

Jou grumbled as he tried to tug on his clothes, which he was certain, were being more disagreeable than normal and refused to cooperate. It was like he was cursed. Nothing was going his way lately, and he absently wondered if things could possibly get worse. Then he decided he didn't want to know. 

He blinked a little, when he felt eyes on him, frowning at the way the feeling seemed to make his heartbeat pick up, and angled the door of his locker, looking in the mirror in it, trying to find who was looking at him. Imagine his surprise when he saw it was a sopping, raven haired boy who was staring at him so intently. {What the hell? Why is he looking at me like that.?} He wondered to himself, completely baffled. {He trying to plan some other way to torment me?} He wouldn't put it past him. But there was something in the other teen's eyes, something... gentle, that seemed to dissuade him of the notion. Which only left him more confused. 

Otogi growled a little, to himself, shaking his head as he tried to snap out of the daze he was in, and took his frustration out on Honda who was still standing in front of him, glaring stupidly at him. 

"What, are you his protector?" He asked irritably. "If I didn't know better, it would sound like you were the one that was interested in him." He interjected, taking a sadistic delight in the look that crossed the idiot's face when the meaning of his words actually sunk in and he took a step back, stuttering. Otogi was resisting the urge to laugh at him outright. The guy was so thick, he was probably actually contemplating the ridiculous insinuation.

All of the sudden, Otogi felt himself sprawled against the lockers, a few locks digging into his back, scratching up his delicate skin.

"You're such an ass, Otogi. Jou's my best friend; of course I'm going to stick up for him. Notice nobody would ever do the same for you." With that, Honda spun on his heel and walked out of the locker room. 

Jou had long since gone quiet, feeling a little sorry for Otogi. What Honda said was true. The boy didn't really have any close friends, just his fans. He then remembered how the raven-haired boy continuously treated him, and his expression changed to an angry scowl, slamming his locker shut. {He deserves everything he gets. He's such a jerk...even if he was being nice that one time in the bathroom, helping me with the glue...must have been a fluke or something} 

Shrugging his back pack on his shoulder, the blonde spared Otogi one last glance before making his way to his next class, ignoring the tiny little tingle he felt in his lower body when he glanced at the water droplets glistening off pale, unmarked skin. 

 Otogi sighed to himself, ignoring the pain in his back that the handles had caused, and slumped down on a bench, running a hand through his tangled, dripping hair. One of these days, he was going to learn when to just keep his mouth shut and make his life easier all around. With a grumbled curse, he berated himself for his foolishness and went digging through his locker for his hairbrush. He pulled it out with a less than triumphant sound and began working the tangles out of his distressed locks. What did it matter what an idiot like Honda thought. He had friends. Countless ones, if you counted his fans. He didn't know anything. Hell, even Yugi had professed to being his friend, though that wasn't something he particularly boasted about. 

And who cares if no one would stand up for him? He could stand up for himself, he assured himself, trying to ignore the twinge in his chest that that accusation had caused him. If having friends meant having idiots like Honda and Mazaki following him around all day, then he could do without. {God save me from bubble-headed brunettes.} He thought, shaking his head. He winced when he encountered yet another tangle in his hair, which seemed to be taking side with everyone else against him, and set his brush down, drying himself off so that he could get dressed.

Jou was unusually silent as he made his way through the halls, ignoring everyone he passed, despite the not-so-quiet whispers. Undoubtedly the news of the scene they'd made in gym class had already spread throughout the school and, hell, would probably even be in that damn paper. He didn't care though. Right now he was too busy convincing himself that he wasn't feeling bad for Otogi who had looked, dare he say it, hurt back in the locker room, and that he could care less about the other, even if he had. That rat deserved whatever he got, and that was that...but telling himself that didn't quell the hollow ache that was forming in his chest.

With a stifled growl, Jou stomped his foot on the floor before turning around and heading back. He cursed his guilty conscience and his overall concern for humanity, even lowlifes like Otogi. He had to remember; even the worst of villains had some sort of goodness in them. Kaiba came to mind, remembering how the brunette acted with his little brother and even Yami when he thought nobody was looking. He could picture the tender touches the billionaire would place on the spirit's cheek and even the small, warm looks he would give him. 

Shrugging off the thoughts, he marched back into the gym locker room and found Otogi fully dressed yet having some sort of fight with his hair. The shorter teen seemed to be pulling and whimpering pitifully as his silken locks snagged onto the bristles. Tears were gathered at the corner of his eyes, and the blonde could feel his heart tightening at the scene. He didn't think it was possible for the other boy to cry, though a part of reminded him that Otogi was crying over his hair.

"Stupid...fucking...damn hair..." the dice king muttered under his breath, practically murdering his scalp. 

"Here. Let me," Jou said quietly, prying the brush from slim fingers. 

Otogi was about to protest, but the brush was already sliding through his hair, the blonde using his fingers to smooth out the tangles. Jou moved to sit behind the raven-haired teen, straddling the bench and continuing to brush his hair as gently as possible. It wasn't as if he hadn't done this before. He remembered countless times when Shizuka would beg him to brush her hair for her, and he could never resist her adorable pout. 

As the blonde's fingers kept making their way through his hair, Otogi soon found himself in heaven, a peaceful silence falling between them. He couldn't believe how good Jou was treating his hair. Even the best hairdressers didn't have his touch; it almost felt orgasmic. He never wanted it to end. 

Jou was startled when Otogi, who seemed to be melting from the hair brushing, leaned back against him, but he didn't point it out, engrossed in his task of smoothing out the raven locks which, he had to admit, really were quite beautiful, and silkier than he had imagined beneath his fingers...not that he'd spent a lot of time thinking about them. Right.

Otogi sighed blissfully, leaning back against the blonde's surprisingly firm chest, his eyes shut lightly in bliss as he focused on the feel of the brush, and even more so, the blonde's fingers, running through his hair and sending delightful little chills down his spine. Had he been in his right mind, he would have been thoroughly disturbed by this, but something about having his hair brushed so tenderly had sent his mind, as well as any rational thought he might have possessed right out the window. 

They sat like that for who knows how long, lost in the moment. If the bell had rang, they hadn't heard it, and if anyone had walked passed them, they were completely  oblivious, each focused fully on the simply act of Jou brushing Otogi's hair and the temporary truce between them in that moment. 

Otogi was practically on the verge of falling asleep there against the warm, surprisingly comfortable blonde who was raking his fingers through his detangled hair, the brush having long since been abandoned.

Jou was surprised to find the other boy comfortably nestled against his chest, little mewling sounds permeating from his body. Even thought the boy's hair was beyond untangled, he couldn't stop himself from sliding his fingers through  the mass of silky strands, enjoying the softness it their texture. He knew they should stop now go back to class, but some things were just too good to turn away from. 

The dice wielder was half asleep by the time it registered in his mind what exactly was going on. Sitting up abruptly, he spun his head around to meet Jou's face and just stayed frozen in that stance. His eyes were locked on the blonde's, and his face was slowly heating with a light flush from having taken so much pleasure from something so simple.

He tried to get himself to say something, anything, but the words wouldn't come out. He was unsure whether he wanted to thank the boy or yell at him for touching his beautiful hair with those oily, possibly dirty, fingers. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to make a sound. So, he did the only he could do. He leaned forward and brushed his lips over Jou's. Though it only lasted a millisecond, the bare contact left a tingling, warm feeling on his lips that made his entire body tremble. The moment his lips parted from the blonde's, he pulled back and shoving him away, darting out of the locker room rapidly.

Jou sat there in stunned silence, holding a few fingers to his lips and staring dazedly at the wall before him. Did that just happen? He couldn't believe it. The self-proclaimed dice king had just kissed him. The boy he swore on his mother's grave that he was anything but a fruit just kissed him. The ponytail wearing, dice-throwing, leather-pant clad boy just kissed him. 

"...Oh boy..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  


*Jou-chan, or to be more precise, Ojou-chan, is a term used when addressing a young girl, kind of like "Little missy" Or something to that extent.

Wow, these chapters are pretty long….. *shrugs* Anyways, review and let us know what you think. It will encourage us to torture the bishies more ^_~


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